I Always Knew
by runaway0wl
Summary: Veronica comes back to Neptune after nine years and goes to the dock during Fleet Week to search for Logan.


As Veronica stood on a crowded dock in San Francisco, she made a futile attempt to come up with many different reasons for being there. No matter how hard she tried to come up with one, though, the real reason kept surfacing and slapping her right in the face. There were only two words to explain why she was there, and she resented them. The words were _Logan Echolls_.

She had driven two hours from Neptune to San Francisco for a chance to catch a glimpse of him. It was Fleet Week, which meant the wonderfully psychotic jackass would be on the dock, posing for pictures. Veronica prayed that all of the attention would not make his head any bigger. An eager child drew her away from her thoughts.

Veronica began to walk around, deliberately stalling the search for Logan by heading over to the food cart. Triangular multicolored flags hung over her head, flapping in the wind, and festive music was playing. While she stood in line, she thought about what to say to Logan when she found him. After all, what do you say to someone that you hadn't seen in nine years? _Oh, sorry I have avoided you for nine years. Want to go out for dinner?_

After college graduation, she had moved to New York with Piz. Logan remained in Neptune and joined the Navy. She worked with the FBI and Piz had a job at a radio station. Her relationship with Piz had been going well until she missed both their ten-year dating anniversary and his birthday because of her job. After that, Piz decided that he could no longer put up with it and broke up with her.

She had been sad, but not as heartbroken as she had thought she would be. After a few weeks of living alone in New York, she moved back to Neptune and now worked at the FBI office there. Her dad had been thrilled, of course. She had spent a few days reuniting with her friends, trying to keep her mind off of the one whom she truly needed to see. Her friends kept dropping hints that he was going to be in San Francisco for Fleet Week and finally, she gathered enough courage to confront Logan.

And that led her to where she was now. Veronica bought a soft pretzel from the stand and pushed through the crowd. All of the Navy officers were standing near the edge of the dock by the boats. At first, she did not see Logan and walked closer to the line of uniformed men and women. Somebody in the crowd moved, and he was suddenly in her line of sight.

She stared at him, unable to move. He was just as attractive as he had always been, but his dark hair was a bit shorter. He beamed at the cameras as people took pictures with him. It was almost as if he was absorbing energy from the crowd around him. Logan looked truly happy.

Veronica did not want to ruin it and backed away. She turned around and was about to start walking when she heard a voice. His voice. "Veronica?" he called, loud and clear.

Slowly, she turned around, terrified of what his reaction was going to be. He was looking at her in disbelief as she walked towards him. Veronica stopped in front of him. She cleared her throat and said, "Hi, Logan."

Grinning down at her, he replied, "I guess you couldn't stay away from me. So, how are you? Still snooping through people's trash?"

"I work for the FBI now, so I'm authorized to look through people's trash. I'm fine. How are you? Did you just sign up for the Navy so you could model this uniform for the public?"

"I'm doing pretty well, Mars. And how's the little Piss doing? Did he work up the balls to propose to you yet?"

"It's Piz," she told him. She looked down at her feet. "Actually, we broke up two months ago and I moved back here."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Logan said with what Veronica thought was genuine sympathy.

"It doesn't matter. It's not like it was going to work anyway."

"Veronica. Are you ok-"

"I'm fine," Veronica assured.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, you know. Fleet Week. I can't miss the opportunity to see all these men running around in these uniforms."

"Of course."

Veronica suspected that he knew the real reason for her appearance, but she was grateful that he did not bring it up yet.

"Do you want to walk around?" Logan asked. "I don't have to take pictures the whole time."

"Sure."

They began to walk down the side of the dock. "How's _Richard_ doing?" Veronica asked him.

"Dick is doing well. He's the same as always. Dick does as dicks do."

"Well, it's good to know that some things never change," she replied. Hesitantly, she added, "Have you had any… lady friends lately?"

Logan looked at her, and then answered, "I have had a few girlfriends. Nothing too serious, though."

"Oh."

They walked silently for a few seconds until a young girl and a boy who looked like her brother came up to Logan. "Hi," the girl said excitedly. "Could I get a picture with you?"

Ever the people-pleaser, Logan smiled at her and told her, "Of course."

The girl waved at her brother to take a picture and Logan posed with her. Veronica stood to the side while she waited for them to finish. When the photo was taken, the girl thanked him and ran off with her brother in tow.

"Well, aren't you quite the charmer," Veronica said to Logan when he rejoined her.

"Why, thank you."

The pair walked until they reached a bench away from the large crowd. They sat on it, and Veronica had to make sure that she was not sitting too close to him.

Logan looked at her and then began to speak. "Veronica, be truthful. Are you really okay?"

"You mean with what happened with Piz?" she asked. He nodded. "Yes, I am okay. I was sad for a little while, but I'm over it.

"You were in a relationship with him for nine years. Not that I ever liked the guy, but you did, so shouldn't you be a bit more upset?"

Veronica felt uncomfortable answering this question under his gaze. "I'm not upset because I don't think I ever truly loved him. I loved what I wanted him to be and I loved how our relationship wasn't a rollercoaster ride, but it wasn't exciting. I didn't truly love _him_." It was silent for a moment, and then she asked, "What about you? Why didn't you have any actual relationships?"

"Veronica. Last time I told you what I'm about to tell you, you ran. Please, just promise me that you won't run?"

"I promise to try." Veronica's breathing started to become uneven. She had an idea of what he was about to tell her, and she did not know if it scared her or excited her.

"Veronica, I told you once that our story was epic, and I still think it is. Every time I would try to get with another girl, I would only think of you. They would never stick around for long because they knew that I still had feelings for you. I love you, Veronica. Even when you left Neptune to go to New York with Piz. I knew you would come back. I did not know when, but I knew you would. When I saw you standing on this dock, I knew that the wait had been worth it."

Veronica stared at the ground, the nails in the bench, anything but Logan's face. Eventually, she said, "Wow, you sure know how to make a girl swoon."

"Veronica. Please. Be serious." When Veronica didn't say anything, he sighed. "So, why did you come here today?"

She thought about making another witty comment to avoid telling the real reason, but she decided that since he told her the truth, she at least owed him this much. "I- I came here to see you. I felt like I needed to talk to you."

Another round of silence came over them and they sat together for a while. The sun had gone down when Veronica finally stood up and said, "Well, I should probably head home. It was- it was nice seeing you, Logan."

A hurt look went across Logan's face, but it quickly vanished. He stood up. "I'll walk you to your car."

"No, you don't have to do that. Really, it's fine."

Sitting back down in defeat, he replied, "Okay."

Veronica headed towards her car. She expected to feel relief as she got farther away from him, but all she felt was sadness. Before she opened her car door, she looked back and saw that he was still sitting on the bench.

Suddenly, she felt the overwhelming urge to be with him and she whispered, "Ah, screw it." She ran back to the bench and yanked him off of it by his hand. Veronica pressed her lips to his and he quickly responded to her, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her closer. As they pulled away, he whispered, "I always knew you would come back. I always knew."


End file.
